No links post this Saturday. Nor next Saturday, probably. I leave tomorrow for my East Coast adventure, driving QGD1 to Boston for college and visiting knitblogger friends on the way home.
Younger Son’s original plan was to have me drop him off somewhere in the St Louis area; he would bike to a location in the totality, camp there, observe the eclipse, then bike back north to Minneapolis. His plans were very fluid, though; what he eventually decided was to accompany me to Makanda and Ironton and have me drop him off somewhere north of there. I was very happy to have him with me as a navigator in the last few miles of the trip, as we drove deeper in the *wilderness* that is extreme southern IL.
The magic drop-off point: a gas station near Mt Pleasant IA*.
He packs his bike.
That snaky thing is his hammock. The pack it is going into has an interior cinch strap; once he has filled the front half of it as full as he can, he cinches the contents even tighter, thereby giving him more room to pack more stuff.
These two dudes at the Mt Pleasant gas station with their motorcycles and trailers probably thought they were badass travelers.
THIS is badass. In the under-bar pack and the pack behind the seat he has a sleeping hammock, rain flap, sleeping bag, 2 liters of water (with a tube that runs up to the handlebars so he can get a drink while riding), and various energy bars and other foodstuffs. (See the hands sticking up from the sunroof in the reflection in the window? That is me taking this photo.)
Apparently there was some mud along the way.
Maybe here.
He went through Pella IA.
…and found a nice little outdoor cafe somewhere.
The view from inside his sleeping hammock with the rain flap in place.
Charging the electronics: essential.
He shares his location with me on Google Maps so I can follow his journey.
* Careful examination of the photos revealed that this one is a subsequent stop. As my husband is fond of saying, “Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.”
kmkat & her kneedles 
This is great! I hope he has fun and meets lots of good people.